Late
by kate882
Summary: Kise doesn't tell Kuroko when he's late to work. The plane he's supposed to be flying crashes.


It was an average Sunday. Kise had left for work that morning after going with Kuroko to take Nigou for a walk. He was supposed to be flying a plane to New York, so it was probably going to be a few days before Kuroko saw him again, but he was used to that. He knew what he was getting into when he finally decided to give Kise a chance and go out with him a few years ago. Now, whenever Kise could be home, they lived together, and Kuroko knew he had made the right choice.

Since it was a Sunday, Kuroko didn't have to teach. He'd gotten so used to either being around loud children at work or Kise being around making noise that whenever the blond was gone Kuroko felt the need to have some form of background noise put on as he went about whatever he needed to do that day. Sometimes music, other times the tv. So, he set the tv to the news as he got to work on separating lights and darks for the laundry.

"And in other news –oh. We just got word of a plane crash, and we are taking you live to the scene."

Kuroko didn't allow himself to panic right then. After all, Kise's plane wasn't the only one flying today. However, he did turn his full attention to the screen.

"Hello, I am reporting to you live where a plane from Tokyo to New York has just crashed right into the street here. It left this morning, but didn't even make it out of Japan. There is no official cause for the crash, but there are speculations that something went wrong with the engine. It's being reported that everyone on the plane is dead, along with several people who were driving on this street." The reporter kept talking, but Kuroko couldn't hear them anymore.

He'd dropped the shirt he'd been holding as he stared at the screen, looking at the images of the plane crash. The words 'everyone on the plane is dead' kept on spinning through his head, and he could feel his hands shaking.

It couldn't be true. Tokyo to New York was Kise's plane, and Kise couldn't be dead. He couldn't be. No, it would be like that time he'd gotten a call saying that Aomine had gotten shot trying to talk down a bank robber. He'd thought for sure that his best friend was about to die, and then found out that it was just through the shoulder and Aomine didn't even care that he'd been shot, he was just pissed that his nurse wasn't hot. Surely they'd find the pilot to still be alive and Kuroko would go to the hospital and Kise would give him a smile bright enough to put the sun to shame and tell him that he'd be allowed to come home soon. Kuroko even looked at his phone to make sure it wasn't ringing with a call from the hospital.

It wasn't.

The screen was still showing images of the plane crash, and Kuroko couldn't look at it any more. He picked up the television remote and tried to press the power button, but his fingers weren't cooperating with him. He didn't even realize he'd thrown the remote until he saw the cracked screen of the tv and he couldn't see the crash any more. He couldn't really bring himself to care about the mess he'd just made.

He heard the front door opening, and couldn't make himself care about that either. It could be one of his friends or someone breaking in, but what did it matter if it wasn't Kise?

"Kurokocchi, I'm home! There was some big traffic jam, and so I called the airport and told them there was no way I was going to make it in on time and they got someone else to fly for me. So, I get to stay with you for a few more days!"

Kuroko was pretty sure he had never moved so quickly. He needed to see Kise there and alive for himself.

There he was, taking off his shoes at the door and looking up at Kuroko with a blinding smile. A smile that faltered when he saw the look on Kuroko's face. "Kurokocchi, what's wrong?"

Kuroko didn't answer him. He instead wrapped his arms around Kise in a tight hug, burying his face in Kise's chest as tears of relief ran down his face.

"Kur-Kurokocchi?" Kise asked, the concern clear in his voice as he hesitantly wrapped his arms around Kuroko as well. Kuroko said something, but Kise couldn't quite understand him. His voice was a bit muffled by both crying and Kise's shirt. "What was that?"

"Your plane crashed. The one you were supposed to be flying. It crashed and I thought you were dead." Kuroko said again, taking louder so that Kise could hear him.

Kise's eyes widened in understanding and he walked them into the living room where they could sit down. His eyes briefly flicked to the tv, but he decided that wasn't really important at the moment as he sat down on the couch, pulling Kuroko into his lap and placing a light kiss on the top of his head. "Shh, it's okay. I'm right here. A huge truck jackknifed in the middle of the highway and no one was going anywhere. That's why it took me so long to get home. I swear I'll call you next time I'm not able to fly so that you know that I'll be home, but I'm here. I'm not dead. I'm fine."

Kuroko had thought he'd accepted everything about Kise's job. He worked weird hours. He'd be gone for days at a time. Their appartment was going to be filled with weird souvenirs that Kise found in all of the different places he got to travel to. Kise's plane could crash.

Apparently he hadn't accepted that last one.

But it was okay, because Kise was home. He was safe. And the next morning Kuroko got to wake up next to him, not remembering how he'd gotten to the bed, which meant that Kise had probably carried him when he'd calmed down enough to fall asleep against him.

Kuroko reached onto the night stand for his phone and sent a text to the school saying that he was sick that day and they needed a substitute before curling up closer to Kise and closing his eyes again.


End file.
